The Graphene Flagship has achieved most of its objectives and milestones and delivered results with significant immediate or potential impact. This is the conclusion of the European Commission in its interim review report of the project’s first year following the two-and-half-year ramp-up phase.

Having reported more than 600 scientific publications, 37 patent applications, 17 products on the market and six spin-off companies during this 12-month period, the Graphene Flagship is commended for focusing its work towards a more industrially oriented initiative with a higher technology readiness level.

“We are glad to have received such a positive evaluation feedback from the European Commission as it is an important acknowledgement that we are progressing in the right direction towards our overall goal, which is taking graphene and related materials from academic laboratories to the factory floor,” said Jari Kinaret, director of the Graphene Flagship.

Significant results close to commercial exploitation mentioned in the report include the Airbus winglet made of graphene composites, a motorcycle helmet with a graphene coating, a new viscoelastic graphene-polymer sensor material, perovskite photovoltaic cells with improved stability and a demonstration of tuneable ion sieving using GO membrane for water desalination.